Some materials are only considered valuable until the job is done. After that, they are often thrown away, even when there is plenty of use left in them. This project explores the potential of giving one of our most common waste materials a second life.

Built entirely from discarded cardboard collected across Helsinki, the installation became a place for information, gathering, and conversation during Helsinki Design Week. What would normally be thrown away became the centrepiece of Aalto University's presence at the festival.

The three-layered construction created depth and a clear hierarchy of information while encouraging visitors to move around the space and explore the installation from different angles. Existing company logos were painted over rather than removed, allowing traces of the material's previous life to remain visible in the final design.

By giving an everyday waste material a new purpose, Cooler Planet 2022 explores how materials can remain useful after their original purpose is complete.